There's nothing wrong with playing up nostalgia. Matchbox Twenty's decision to play light rock hits like "How Far We've Come" and "3 am" essentially like it's always played them, with about as much wallop as a softly packed snowball, ensured louder singalongs. It's what the crowd wanted, and giving the crowd what it wants results in sold-out shows like the one Saturday. ...The drawback though in delivering what people want is you don't give much that's unexpected. With a setlist exactly identical to recent dates, and a showtime that ended at 10:30 p.m. on the dot as scheduled, this isn't a band that makes much room for spontaneity. But there was just enough spontaneity to keep the show from coming across too nakedly as the well-oiled machine that it was.

“If you go back 15 years, we were the ‘it’ band on the scene,” reflects Cook. “You flash forward to now, and ya, it’s pretty tough to compete with the Justin Biebers and the Nikki Minaj’s of music. You just have to figure out how what you do as an artist fits into the landscape of what’s popular.

Energetic and lighthearted, Matchbox Twenty started with a
time-traveling mix of hits for the expectant crowd. Rousing, radio-heavy
songs “She’s So Mean” and “How Far We’ve Come” proved pace and control
are no issue to Rob Thomas: He kept up with the rapid-fire lines and
breathless breaks as if he were still in 1996.